Insulator for kitchen ranges



@et 8, w35. A. D. SWEET Y gmm@ INSULATOR FOR KITCHEN RANGES Filed June 23, 1935 ENVENTQR ndrew we Waar/ley.

Patented Oct. 8, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT orries 1 Claim.

In the operation of kitchen ranges the trend now is toward the use of oil as the heating medium, the burner being located in the nre-pot of the range with the flame, when the burner is in '5 active service, rising and impacting on the covers from which it is deflected and then drafted through the range flues to the smoke-pipe and chimney.

The burning of the oil itself tends naturally to create a draft which concentrates the heat in the upper portion of the fire-pot, leaving the lower section, in which usually there is a water-coil or water-front for heating tank water, devoid of but a comparatively small amount of heat.

The covers and top portions of the range become highly heated, but a considerable portion of this heat is radiated into the room and is lost insofar as its availability for range-heating purposes is concerned.

2O The present invention, which relates to kitchen range appliances, deals particularly with a device the primary object of which is to overcome this just recited deiiciency in the conventional method of operating range burners.

By employing this device the heat which ordinarily escapes by radiation from the covers and range top and serves for no other purpose than to heat the room, is conserved and utilized to inrcrease the temperature of the interior space in V the range.

The device which I designate as an insulator consists of a hollow, box-like structure made of sheet metal. Within the structure is a material of high insulating or non-heat-conducting ma'- terial, such for instance as asbestos or the well known material commercially called minafelt.

A plurality of these insulators are placed on the range, over its covers and the adjoining portions, and serve to retard the outward radiation 40 of the heat from the range parts to such an eX- tent that the latter become still more highly heated. Then Iby reversed radiation, that is, the heat directed toward the interior of the range, the interior space takes on this eXtra heat and the lower portion of the nre-pot as well also as the flue spaces around the oven are materially increased or raised in temperature, this being accomplished without increasing the consumption of fuel-in fact with my arrangement the fuel cost may be quite considerably reduced.

By thus raising the temperature of the interior space in the range the water coil is made more eflicient and the baking ability of the oven largely improved.

I have illustrated my invention in the accom- (Cl. 126-221) Y.,

panying drawing in which I have disclosed an embodiment which at the present time I consider preferable to other possible forms in which the invention might be carried out.

In the drawing- *5' Fig. 1 is a perspective View of my insulator; Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2 2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3 3, Fig. 1; Fig.,4 is a section taken on line 1 Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a kitchen range l0' range with the insulators thereon, and 152 Fig. 8 is the water tank used in connection with the water coil in the range.

, Similar reference characters are employed to identify like parts in all the different views in lthe drawing. 20`

Referring to the drawing, I is the metal bottom element of the insulator. This is, preferably, Vmade in slightly inwardly concaved or dished contour. The object sought in constructing the element I in this manner is to reduce in so far as 25 is possible distortion of the metal and prevent abnormal warping downwardly at its central part when the range covers are excessively heated. In its disclosed form any expansion occurring in the comparatively thin sheet metal will cause 30V it to bend still further inwardly, or from its normal base line, the marginal portions remaining substantially uniform in shape. Downwardly extending embossments la hold the insulator from direct contact with the top o1 the range. 35'

Mounted on the member I is an inverted pan- Vshape structure made preferably of sheet steel and having a top Vportion 2, side portions 2a, which latter enclose the upstanding sides lo of the base member I, and. end portions 2b each 40 having an outwardly extending flange 2c which is locked within the seam made by turning over upon itself the projecting par-t Ib of the base member I. l

On each end of the insulator is a relatively 45 long bail 3, its ends being tucked under the upper portions of the turned-over part of the seam at Ib. The bails rise above the top of the member 2 and are revolubly mounted so as to have a limited amount of swinging action, as shown in 50 Fig. 2 in which the full lines represent their positions as they would be disposed when the insulator was to be lifted, dotted positions :c when the insulator was not in service and hanging from a hook or nail. The posi-tion y depicts the 55 bails in position to support the insulator when turned up-side-down, as shown in Fig. 6, in which the latter is represented as supporting a dish of food D with a cover C enclosing the dish, the food being thereby kept in a ready-to-serve condition for a considerable period of time.

It will be observed, if reference is had to Fig. 6, that by oppositely inclining the bails they act as braces, preventing collapse or toppling over of the insulator when serving as a food or crockery warmer. ln this instance the edges e, e of the portion 2 act as stops which limit the inward movement of the bails.

The space between the parts I and 2 is either completely or partially filled with any good nonheat-conducting material 4, which, while becoming hot itself prevents outward radiation of the heat from the range covers; in other Words, the insulator blankets the -covers and immediately surrounding parts of the range top and causes them to become very much hotter than would be the oase were the covers free to radiate their absorbed heat into the space in the room.

After being thoroughly impregnated by the heat the insulators will for a considerable period retain a temperature suflicient for dish and food warming purposes.

While the foregoing discloses one of the objects and purposes for which my insulators may be employed it is secondary to the main purposeconserving heat and supplying the means Whereby a considerable portion thereof which would otherwise be lost can be retained in the range.

ln Fig. 7 is shown a fragmentary sectional view of a kitchen range R, having a fire-pot P within which is an oil burner B. The oven of the range is shown at O and the flue or passage'- way for heat and flame from the burning fuel is identied by the letter F.

Also disposed within the fire-pot P is a Watercoil W which by being heated supplies hot water for the water tank T, the inlet pipe to the tank being shown at Ta and the outlet therefrom at Tb.

It will be particularly noted by observing Fig. 7 that the heat and flame exists from the top of the burner casing BC and passes, after deflecting on the covers RC intothe passage-way F, over the oven O.

In operating range oil burners lthe damper either in the range or smoke pine must necessarily be left partially open to carry off fumes and unburned gas. A considerable loss of heat units occurs at this time by their being drafted into the chimney. This often necessitates operating the burner at full capacity to supply sufcient heat for the oven and for the water coil.

But when the burner is running at full capacity lthe covers and adjoining parts of the range top become highly heated and these rafour-of Which placed on the top of the range 10 acting to retard the outward radiation of the. heat from the covers and portions adjoining and re-directing it so that it still more highly heats vthese parts-and thereby the interior space in the range. 15

Thus by conserving this outwardly radiatedheat the burner may be operated at considerably less than full capacity and still supply the same amount of effective heat for the oven and water coil as originally it did when running full blast. 20

Another item of saving resides in the ability of the interior heat, super-heated as it is by redirected radiation, to more thoroughly consume the gases liberated from the oil.

My insulators have perhaps more effective ap- 25 plication when employed in association with oilburning ranges, but they will function, and in many cases very satisfactorily, when used with coal ranges.

Their service is demanded when oven cooking 30" and water heating duties are to be performed; at other times they may be removed from the range top and the range used for any other service desired.

what I Claim is: 35'

A device of the character described adapted for use on the top of a kitchen range comprising a base member having its central portion dished upwardly, embossments on the under face of said base member, a flange extending upwardly from 40 each side of said base member, a top member, having side and end portions, mounted on and disposed in spaced relation to said base member, an outwardly extending, horizontal flange on each of the two end portions of said top mem- 45 ber, an extended portion on each end of said base member, said portions being bent upon themselves and enclosing, respectively, the horlzontal flanges on the ends of said top member, forming lock seams, and a relatively long balll0 revolubly secured in the lock seam at each end of said device, said bails rising to a greater height than said top member and so disposed on the seams that when said device is inverted, said bails serve as legs inwardly inclined beneath said 55 device to support it in spaced relation to the supporting surface, the ends of said top portion serving as stops to limit the inward swinging movement of said bails.

ANDREW D. SWEET. 60 

